“The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin criticized the Democratic Party on Wednesday for what she described as the "botched" vetting of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is currently embroiled in several scandals, including sexual abuse allegations. Griffin suggested the party missed a crucial opportunity to vet a candidate for a key Senate pickup seat.
"I’m just struck by how Dems botched this so badly though, because, to your point, the path to Dems taking the Senate, I think, always ran through Maine," Griffin stated on the show. "That was always going to be one of the important pickup seats. They had six years to recruit against Susan Collins and to vet somebody and to look into their past statements, to look into the tattoos that they might have."
Griffin questioned how the party was unable to uncover issues with Platner's past given the high stakes of the election. She suggested that individuals close to Platner may have been aware of concerns but chose to overlook them. "And this is where I think consultants did know. I think that a lot of people who are making a lot of money around him knew. There were whispers, now there's reports, but that he had issues with women and people kept saying, ‘No, no, no, look away,’" Griffin said.
Co-host Sunny Hostin acknowledged the need for Platner to withdraw from the race, emphasizing the Democratic Party's goal to flip the Senate. However, she also focused criticism on the Republican Party, arguing they could not claim a moral high ground. Hostin stated that despite allegations, she would have voted for Platner if she lived in Maine due to the current political climate.
"I said it, if I lived in Maine I would have, you know, plugged my nose and would have voted for him anyway. I think we are in a time of existential crisis in this country and I think Republicans fall in line. They don’t fall in love. Democrats want to fall in love and not fall in line. The Republican Party — the bar is so very low — I can’t believe that they want to try to assume the moral high ground of the Republican Party," Hostin explained.
During a discussion, Griffin confronted Hostin about whether she would feel comfortable voting for Platner given the allegations. While the hosts agreed that Platner should exit the race, their conversation highlighted differing perspectives on vetting candidates and the political strategies employed by both parties.